Why #passMJIA? 50 Facts About Sexual Assault in the US Military

More than 70 members of the US Military encounter coerced and abusive sexual contact, aggravated sexual assault or are raped every day. That's three every hour.

The National Defense Authorization Act will go to the Senate floor on Monday. As a result, sometime during the next week, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand's controversial Military Justice Improvement Act (MJIA), will be debated. MJIA has the support of 47 Senators and 38 bipartisan sponsors, but is still missing just 13 votes in order to pass without the risk of a filibuster. It's controversial because it proposes removing the prosecution of serious crimes in the armed forces (such as, but not limited to, sexual assault) from the chain of command. Instead, cases will be handled by impartial military prosecutors, who would also be granted authority to decide which cases go to trial.

Senator Claire McCaskill has proposed an alternative approach to reforming that pre-trial process that would allow commanders to stay embedded, but deny them the right to overturn verdicts. Both approaches embrace changes that would address common retaliation against survivors of assault who report crimes as well as requiring a dishonorable discharge for those convicted of sex crimes.

In the 22 years since the Tailhook scandal, where dozens of female service members were openly and publicly harassed and sexually attacked, we have seen the same problems over and over again. The 1996 Aberdeen scandal (in which female recruits were raped by their military superiors), 2003 Air Force Academy rape allegations and charges, and the 2012 Lackland investigations of multiple officers for the sexual assaults of more than 30 women recruits are only the visible periodic eruptions of a culture that exists day in and day out. We are only a few years past the end of "Don't Ask. Don't Tell," but still unable to publicly face the connections between homophobia, misogyny and widespread tolerance for this violence -- against both men and women -- within military ranks.

"Gee whiz, the level -- the hormone level created by nature sets in place the possibility for these types of things to occur." - Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga. on military sexual assaults at a Senate Armed Services Committee meeting.

About 75 percent of women who were assaulted did not report their attacks.

76 percent of men who were sexually assaulted did not report their attacks.

During the reported period, only 302 service members faced punishment or dismissal as the result of being charged: Less than 2.5 percent of the total suspected number of acts of sexual assaults and rape.

"I was repeatedly drugged and raped by several of my superior officers over a nine-month period. ...There was no one I could turn to because, like so many victims of sexual assault in the military, my attackers were in my chain of command. So I kept my mouth shut." - Testimony of Trina McDonald, who was 18 when she was stationed in Alaska and assaulted.

Feel "like a ho?" Question asked by Andrew Weinstein, the lawyer for one of three U.S. Naval Academy midshipmen accused of sexually assaulting a classmate. During 30 hours of grueling questioning she was also asked, "Were you wearing a bra?" "Were you wearing underwear?" and what her oral sex technique is.

Heath X reported that he was gang raped, told he was lying, threatened, bullied, assaulted again and tried to commit suicide all during his first month in the service. He left, became homeless, was incarcerated and was diagnosed as suffering "intense psychological pain." He was taken to a Naval jail, and then returned to his post where he had to serve with the "gang of molesters" that had attacked him before. He was violently assaulted before and given the day off. He faced court-martial or dishonorable discharge. He was denied benefits because he was dishonorably discharged. He was 18.

Enlisted women report higher rates of harassment, coercion and assault than officers do. Because, we all know that rape is about accidents and sex and not entitlement and status and the opportunity they create.

"If you tell anyone, I'll tell them you're a dyke." - What Michelle Jones' squad leader told her after he sexually attacked her.

"Service members must report rape to their commanders. However, if their commanders take action and prove that rape occurred, they also prove a failure of their own leadership."- Brian Lewis, who was 20 when he was raped while in the Navy.

Men in the military academies have a markedly higher propensity to believe in stereotypical gender roles and rape myths which typically include the ideas that survivors are lying and, if telling the truth, to blame.

Kori Cioca was serving in the US Coast Guard when she was raped by a commanding officer. He also broke her jaw, leaving her with lifelong pain and serious depression. When she attempted to bring him to justice, she was informed by her commanding officer that she'd be court martial as a liar; the man, who granted that an assault happened, but said it did not include rape was restricted to his base for 30 days without pay for a short time. Maybe a book report would have been more effective.

"It is hard to be a Military Sexual Trauma spouse -- not hard to be with a survivor, but hard because at times I feel so helpless to the trauma." Kori Cioca's husband.

55: Number of senators who have not said whether they support the Military Justice Improvement Act or not.

. As veterans they believe that Congress should pass MJIA for four reasons:

It strengthens military justice for both the victim and the accused.

It in no way inhibits commanders from preventing and responding to sexual assault.

The removal of the commander of the accused from the process does not degrade unit discipline, cohesion and combat readiness, none of which are tied to one person, but to collective effort and trust - something that clearly does not exist currently.

Increasing service members' access to justice will not threaten military readiness. Instead, it will increase recruitment and retention and build confidence that our military reflects the ideals it is charged with upholding." They are "not choosing survivors over our military; survivors are part of our military."

Whether it happens in the military or in civilian life, people, almost all men, rape because they can. It's a cultural entitlement. Our military chain of command has itself degraded any confidence that it is interested in changing either - the culture or the entitlement. In the end, this list of statistics is a litany of broken promises to people who've sacrificed their lives.